This relates to systems and methods for providing protection circuitry to selectively handle multiple cable-types through the same port of an electronic device. In particular, this relates to systems and methods for providing protection circuitry to selectively handle power-providing cables and non-power providing cables through the same port of an electronic device.
As technology becomes more sophisticated, electronic devices tend to get smaller. For example, electronic devices such as laptops, digital media players (e.g., an iPod™ made available by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), cellular telephones, personal data assistants (“PDAs”), handheld gaming devices, and personal e-mail devices (e.g., a Blackberry™ made available by Research in Motion of Waterloo, Ontario) are getting smaller in size. This is often the case even though the internal circuitry and capabilities of these smaller electronic devices may be more advanced than their larger and older counterparts. As electronic devices become smaller in size, it can become necessary to conserve space on the electronic device. As one example of a way to conserve space, the number of ports available for coupling the electronic device to various cables can be reduced.